On Tuesday, when we got to Sydney the first thing all us girls wanted to do was ditch our luggage and go explore. I walked out of the hotel room wearing my OSU shirt and the first thing I hear is “O..H...” So instinctively I yelled “I...O” back and looked around to see where this buckeye love was coming from. Some guy (a very good looking guy in a suit…haha) ran up to me. Turns out he is from Beavercreek and knows where Coldwater is…STRANGE! It’s truly a small world when the first person I meet in Sydney, Australia is from Beavercreek, Ohio. The girls and I began walking down the streets with one thing in mind: The Sydney Opera House. The moment I came in view of the opera house, I was in awe. All my life I have associated that view of the beautifully structured opera house with the harbor bridge in the background with Australia. When I think Australia: I think Sydney. It was incredible…I couldn’t believe I was actually standing there looking at it myself! After being an extreme tourist and taking about a hundred pictures, we walked down the street to the botanical gardens. Unlike in Melbourne, the gardens in Sydney had amazing flowers…and soooo many colors! The garden was so huge, we didn’t really get a chance to walk through all of it because of our grumbling hungry bellies. On the walk back to the hotel, I ducked into St. Mary’s Cathedral and yet again, my breath was taking away. It was so beautiful inside that it brought tears to my eyes. Across the street from the cathedral is Hyde Park, a beautiful park located in the heart of city... and we were staying about a block away from it all. Our hotel was on College Street, a block away from Oxford street, which a few nights before our arrival, was occupied by Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras in Sydney started as a Gay and Lesbian protest and now has become a big deal for the city (about a million people come out for it each year!) I’m disappointed we weren’t there to witness it all…I’m sure it was quite interesting! Oxford Street was still decorated with gay pride rainbow flags on every light post…and it was evident that it was the “gay district.” Our first night there we went out for a quick drink because at midnight it was Steph’s 21st birthday! We called it an early night so we could be rested for tomorrow's adventures.
Wednesday we all got up early to catch a train to the Olympic Park where the 2000 summer Olympic games were held. We paid for a tour where we could explore the huge stadium which held the opening ceremony and track and soccer (among many other sports.) The stadium is now used for rugby, soccer, net ball, and footy. The stadium is incredible…the engineering behind it is simply brilliant. The seats and other structures all move, conforming to the needs of whatever sport is being played. The field itself was designed to collect all rain water to have it filter through and reused. We got to check out the VIP booths where people paid 30,000 dollars to have these seats for like 32 years or something. When they opened the booths up for sale. ..they were all sold out in 5 minutes! We also got to go into the Aquatic Centre. Around the corner in a secluded area there was a shrine for Ian Thorpe, and I fell in love! I didn’t know why no one was around this area which also had the podiums that the medalist stood on to represent their country and get their awards. Since no one was around, us girls got a chance to take several silly pictures of us on the podiums. After the Olympic tour, we went out to eat for Steph’s birthday (which ironically, she found a huge cricket in her meal…gross!Happy Birthday to her, huh!) We met up with another group of BSU kids who were also in Sydney as we headed out to the bars to celebrate. (…and we did…too much haha)
Oh yea, I made the live band a the pub play Aerosmith…so they busted out Walk This Way..and the lead singer didn’t know all the words (but don’t worry…I did….)
Thursday, we were all moving a bit slow. We just kind of walked around the city and did some shopping. Later in the afternoon, Stacey and I had an appointment to climb the Harbour Bridge! It took about three hours total on our guided bridge climb. I have never really been afraid of heights but I was extremely nervous climbing up this tiny ladder, between busy traffic, attached to barely nothing! The view of the city at the top the bridge was…you guessed it…BREAK TAKING. Unfortunately we were not allowed to bring our cameras up the climb (which probably was a good thing, it would have taken me about 4 more hours to climb with all the picture stops!) Stacey and I did however, pay for the photos that the tour guide took of us. You’ll have to wait to see them - and the amazing outfits we had to climb it- we looked GREAT (hahah!) After the climb, Stacey and I walked around The Rocks, a classy district around the harbor. After a night stroll through Hyde Park (where MASSIVE bats are in the trees above!) we called it an early night.
Friday was our day of “super tourism.” We bought all day passes to ride a double-decker bus around the city. We were allowed to get on and off wherever a bus stop was so we could further explore all the stops. We made a stop at the aquarium which was soooo huge and awesome! That night, we got all dressed up for the opera. We ate a fancy meal right outside the opera house. It crazy to sit down and have a meal with the opera house in view! The opera was incredible! We saw Madame Butterfly, a tragic love story of a Japanese woman who falls in love with an American. We had seats all the way in the back, blocking the subtitles (it was all in Italian) so I really did not fully understand what was going on but the music and performers were amazing! It was a perfect end to my visit in Sydney!
Sydney really as it all: classy business districts, cheapy china town, warfs, parks, cafés, shops, monuments, museums, gardens…..and the list continues...I LOVE Sydney! It is truly is a city of it’s own being completely incomparable to any other city I’ve been to. I felt very comfortable and at home (which is strange for me to be comfortable in a big city!) it was so easy to get around. I felt like everything was in walking distance (or a cheap taxi ride away!) Walking down the streets, things looked recognizable and familiar. It was so weird that I could find myself around considering I still get lost in Muncie! There is so much to see and do in Sydney! I will get back to Sydney again…I don’t know when but I’ll be back.
Oh yea, I found the intersection of Elizabeth Street and Hay Street…coincidence? I think not…I think I belong in Sydney :)
(don’t worry mom, I’m coming home though!)
love
Friday, March 20, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
Spring Break Adventures (part 1)
Wednesday was the kick off of spring break (or what my friends and I began to call “holiday 09” since it’s not exactly spring here…and no one knows what spring break is.) The marine biology class went SCUBA diving (at Julian Rocks, of course) and then we had our final exam (the class was only 5 weeks…thank God!) So after the final exam, a few of us girls decided to set holiday 09 into action by heading to the pub in Lennox Head.
Thursday everyone was packing up and heading for their spring break adventure. Different groups of people were headed off to go different places and see different sites and cities. I eagerly waited for my family, Ken and Mary, to pick me up from Lennox to head to the Gold Coast. After they picked me up, we headed through Byron Bay and made a quick stop at the lighthouse. The lighthouse is the most easterly point of Australia. My friends and I have travelled to Bryon quiet a bit but never had made it to the lighthouse. It has been something I’ve been wanting to do since I got here and was great to climb up and see it! After that Ken, Mary, and I had a great lunch at a seafood place. (which was only the beginning to the amazing food I was treated with while staying with them!) I can’t even describe how nice it was to stay at their house for a few days. They are such wonderfully nice people and really made me feel like home. It was great to sit around the table and talk about our family, learn about the differences in our cultures, and look through old photo albums (and new photos from their world travels they have done!) One day, Jason (which would be like my 5th cousin or something like that) took me all around the Gold Coast. We drove through all these little touristy/beachy towns and stopped at several places. We went up this really REALLY tall building (the Q1 deck.) It is the largest residential building on the Gold Coast (it’s taller than the Chrysler Building in NYC) and it has one of the world’s fastest elevators (we went up 77 floors in 42 seconds!) The view was beyond incredible…we could see for miles and miles. Jason and I also walked out to a pier (they had a weird word for it and I don’t remember…) where we watched surfers and swimmers enjoy the surf and sand. We strolled around a mall and had a delicious pizza for lunch…it was a great day! I really enjoyed my stay with them…it was so nice to relax and feel “at home.” (and it was nice to have a real home cooked meal…my cooking consists of toast and cereal!) I am so blessed to have spent a few days with a true Aussie family..that just so happens to be a part of my family. I think I learned more about the difference in lifestyles, language, and culture in the amazing time I spend with them than I have since I’ve been here in Australia. I feel honored that I was able to visit them because I know my grandparents and parents would have loved to seen their beautiful home and would have enjoyed the time I got to spend with them. (by the way, they live in paradise! The Gold Coast is like a chain of small towns that reminded me of a little bit of Ft. Lauderdale, FL but cleaner and nicer…and a mix of the Outer Banks, NC… the Gold Coast is beautiful!)
Saturday morning Ken and Mary brought me to the airport where I met Stacey, Erika, Stephanie, and Britny. They had also been staying at the Gold Coast (Surfer’s Paradise) and we were meeting to fly to Melbourne together. Australian airports are NOT even comparable to US airports. I never once had to show my ID…I was handed my ticket (from Brit) and walked to the counter and handed them my bag to check. Security was a joke…I put my purse on the conveyor belt and walked through a metal detector. It was no big deal at all! We soon boarded the plane and headed to Melbourne.
Melbourne (ironically pronounced “mel-bin”) is a strange city. It is an awkward cocktail of cities; a historical taste of D.C., a business twist of NYC, a splash of London fashion and traces of England’s old Victorian buildings. Walking down the street, old and new buildings and fancy and cheap shops were intermingled. It was such a strange city. Since they are on water restriction, everything seemed so dry and dead. The weather was cold and overcast making Melbourne seem kind of mopey.. . for the first few hours then it turned around. We were staying in South Yarra (a one bedroom flat for 7 girls…we picked up two more at the airport.) We thought we were in the middle of nowhere, far from the city until I went exploring on my own. I turned the corner and there was an endless street of shops and pubs! We ended up having a great meal at an Irish pub and called it an early night for our big city tour the next day. This tour that cost us $80 Aus Dollars (conversion rates are awesome right now…200 Aus Dollars is only $120 USD…perfect time to be in the shopping mecca of OZ!) anyways…this tour was not worth it. We literally drove around the city in circles, listening to the tour guide rambling on about toilets (yes, that’s right…all he would talk about was bathrooms…it was very strange.) We did get to step off the bus at the Shrine of Remembrance, a dedication to all Australian service men and women. It was so neat to see until this crazy Greek man started talking to me and wouldn’t stop telling me how the US owes Greece respect. (I’m not sure what he was rambling about- I was more concerned how to escape his spit that was bombing my face…ew) It was pretty funny…for my friends that ran away and watched this endless conversation take place from a distance. The tour ended by going up Eureka Tower, an observation deck that overlooks the city of Melbourne.
On Sunday, Melbourne became well worth the trip- we went on a tour of The Great Ocean Road. This long road that extends all along the coast was made by WW2 soldiers after their return from the war. We made many little stops to witness some pretty breath taking ocean views, with our final destination being the Twelve Apostles. One stop was made to find koalas in the wild…and we did find two little ones sleeping up in their trees. We also stopped to take a 30 minute walk through a rain forest. Getting closer to the 12 Apostles, we made another stop at this gorge where a famous ship wreck took place. Turns out, there were only two survivors from the ship that originally had 54 people aboard. We finally made it to the 12 Apostles for sunset…and it was so beautiful. (I took about 60 pictures!) The bus ride back was longer than anticipated (who knew we ended up traveling 3 hours away from the city!) The day trip was well worth it and I’m so glad that Stephanie, Stacey, and I did it.
Well that’s enough for now…Next stop…SYDNEY!
Thursday everyone was packing up and heading for their spring break adventure. Different groups of people were headed off to go different places and see different sites and cities. I eagerly waited for my family, Ken and Mary, to pick me up from Lennox to head to the Gold Coast. After they picked me up, we headed through Byron Bay and made a quick stop at the lighthouse. The lighthouse is the most easterly point of Australia. My friends and I have travelled to Bryon quiet a bit but never had made it to the lighthouse. It has been something I’ve been wanting to do since I got here and was great to climb up and see it! After that Ken, Mary, and I had a great lunch at a seafood place. (which was only the beginning to the amazing food I was treated with while staying with them!) I can’t even describe how nice it was to stay at their house for a few days. They are such wonderfully nice people and really made me feel like home. It was great to sit around the table and talk about our family, learn about the differences in our cultures, and look through old photo albums (and new photos from their world travels they have done!) One day, Jason (which would be like my 5th cousin or something like that) took me all around the Gold Coast. We drove through all these little touristy/beachy towns and stopped at several places. We went up this really REALLY tall building (the Q1 deck.) It is the largest residential building on the Gold Coast (it’s taller than the Chrysler Building in NYC) and it has one of the world’s fastest elevators (we went up 77 floors in 42 seconds!) The view was beyond incredible…we could see for miles and miles. Jason and I also walked out to a pier (they had a weird word for it and I don’t remember…) where we watched surfers and swimmers enjoy the surf and sand. We strolled around a mall and had a delicious pizza for lunch…it was a great day! I really enjoyed my stay with them…it was so nice to relax and feel “at home.” (and it was nice to have a real home cooked meal…my cooking consists of toast and cereal!) I am so blessed to have spent a few days with a true Aussie family..that just so happens to be a part of my family. I think I learned more about the difference in lifestyles, language, and culture in the amazing time I spend with them than I have since I’ve been here in Australia. I feel honored that I was able to visit them because I know my grandparents and parents would have loved to seen their beautiful home and would have enjoyed the time I got to spend with them. (by the way, they live in paradise! The Gold Coast is like a chain of small towns that reminded me of a little bit of Ft. Lauderdale, FL but cleaner and nicer…and a mix of the Outer Banks, NC… the Gold Coast is beautiful!)
Saturday morning Ken and Mary brought me to the airport where I met Stacey, Erika, Stephanie, and Britny. They had also been staying at the Gold Coast (Surfer’s Paradise) and we were meeting to fly to Melbourne together. Australian airports are NOT even comparable to US airports. I never once had to show my ID…I was handed my ticket (from Brit) and walked to the counter and handed them my bag to check. Security was a joke…I put my purse on the conveyor belt and walked through a metal detector. It was no big deal at all! We soon boarded the plane and headed to Melbourne.
Melbourne (ironically pronounced “mel-bin”) is a strange city. It is an awkward cocktail of cities; a historical taste of D.C., a business twist of NYC, a splash of London fashion and traces of England’s old Victorian buildings. Walking down the street, old and new buildings and fancy and cheap shops were intermingled. It was such a strange city. Since they are on water restriction, everything seemed so dry and dead. The weather was cold and overcast making Melbourne seem kind of mopey.. . for the first few hours then it turned around. We were staying in South Yarra (a one bedroom flat for 7 girls…we picked up two more at the airport.) We thought we were in the middle of nowhere, far from the city until I went exploring on my own. I turned the corner and there was an endless street of shops and pubs! We ended up having a great meal at an Irish pub and called it an early night for our big city tour the next day. This tour that cost us $80 Aus Dollars (conversion rates are awesome right now…200 Aus Dollars is only $120 USD…perfect time to be in the shopping mecca of OZ!) anyways…this tour was not worth it. We literally drove around the city in circles, listening to the tour guide rambling on about toilets (yes, that’s right…all he would talk about was bathrooms…it was very strange.) We did get to step off the bus at the Shrine of Remembrance, a dedication to all Australian service men and women. It was so neat to see until this crazy Greek man started talking to me and wouldn’t stop telling me how the US owes Greece respect. (I’m not sure what he was rambling about- I was more concerned how to escape his spit that was bombing my face…ew) It was pretty funny…for my friends that ran away and watched this endless conversation take place from a distance. The tour ended by going up Eureka Tower, an observation deck that overlooks the city of Melbourne.
On Sunday, Melbourne became well worth the trip- we went on a tour of The Great Ocean Road. This long road that extends all along the coast was made by WW2 soldiers after their return from the war. We made many little stops to witness some pretty breath taking ocean views, with our final destination being the Twelve Apostles. One stop was made to find koalas in the wild…and we did find two little ones sleeping up in their trees. We also stopped to take a 30 minute walk through a rain forest. Getting closer to the 12 Apostles, we made another stop at this gorge where a famous ship wreck took place. Turns out, there were only two survivors from the ship that originally had 54 people aboard. We finally made it to the 12 Apostles for sunset…and it was so beautiful. (I took about 60 pictures!) The bus ride back was longer than anticipated (who knew we ended up traveling 3 hours away from the city!) The day trip was well worth it and I’m so glad that Stephanie, Stacey, and I did it.
Well that’s enough for now…Next stop…SYDNEY!
Sunday, March 15, 2009
I've been neglecting my blog...sorry
Life here is BUSY (as usual)... I've been receiving messages from many of you telling me to update my blog...so here it is.
The weekend of the 27th, the anthropology class spent a weekend in Tenterfield, a small country town. For each anthro trip we are required to write a "reflection" paper. Since I'm soo far behind on updating my blog (and I'm severely lazy)... I'm just going to post PART of my paper for class. So if it seems overly-detailed and cheesy...it's because it is (and apparently that is a requirement for class...)I will add some things so you can understand what i'm rambling about.. . and delete some things I know you wouldn't care about!
I will be writing all the amazing stories and sites I saw over spring break (which may turn into a book...a lot of incredible things happened!)
The weekend trip to Tenterfield was very educational from the moment we stepped onto the bus until the time we returned home. On the long bus ride, we listened to the soothing music of the very talented John Williams, a legendary singer/songwriter. I really enjoyed his music and found many of his lyrics really interesting and thoughtful. I liked how each of his songs carried a message; resolving personal conflict, helping the environment, or expressing country pride. His music made me really excited about the Australian culture that I have been experiencing and have yet to experience.
The first stop- Thunderbolt's hideout cave. Thunderbolt was a famous thief waaaaay back in the day. Thunderbolt’s cave was very interesting. I was really glad to have received an informational handout when we stepped onto the bus that morning. I was able to read about Thunderbolt which helped me to appreciate the cave and trail more. It is crazy to think that someone would hide out in a cave many years ago. He must have led a fascinating life and it was great to get a glimpse into that part of history.
I was unaware of the amount of hiking to the top of Bald Rock would require but it was well worth it. It was not too terribly long or tough, but it seemed never-ending considering we (the students) had no clue where we were going or when we would reach the final destination. With each climb over a rock and through the trees, the view grew increasingly spectacular, building up anticipation to reach the top. I have never personally witnessed such an incredible view. It honestly took my breath away. At one point, I snuck away and sat alone on the top, just admiring the view and collecting my thoughts. It was a great to reflect on how lucky I am to be here in Australia and to be a part of these incredible adventures.
After the steep hike down Bald Mountain, we retreated to Doctor’s Nose Winery. Although I did not taste any wine, I did enjoy the relaxing time. It was great to unwind from such an eventful day and I looked forward to returning to the hotels. The room I was put in was beautiful and slightly luxurious. With the clean room, comfy bed, and never-ending delicious food, I felt I was vacationing at a quiet little resort in a pleasant historic farm town…and I was right. Tenterfield, population approximately 3,000 people was a refreshing change from the small tourist town of Lennox Head. I went to bed feeling at home and ready for the next day’s adventures.
The next day we went to Billabong Blue, a sapphire fossicking place. It was really neat and fun except for the massive amount of flies that swarmed around everyone’s head and landed in people’s mouth and eyes. I found some pretty nice sapphires, but nothing overly impressive. It was interesting to learn the process of extracting sapphires from a pile of dirt. I was not very good at sifting the dirt in the water and thankfully, the lady who works there helped me out quite a bit.
After tea (we were fed like every 2 hours...it was awesome!) we were off onto another adventure. I had no clue where we were heading as the schedule only informed us we were going to have “lunch with kinfolk.” When we arrived at this community full of barns and trailers, it seemed very quiet. After a few moments of being there, people dressed like Amish came crawling out of their homes to greet us. They ran a business making signs for places all over the world. It wasn’t until the man mentioned something about New York that I noticed he had an American accent. He and the rest of the community were from the states and came (or got sent) to Australia to work and live. The men and women walked about, talking about their business of making signs. It was evident that they take a lot of pride in their work and it was even clearer that they were more interested in us and our lives. One girl who was about 20 years old had been living in Australia for the same amount of time I have and our stories were complete opposite. She was sent, on her own, from Pennsylvania to work and live, without her family and friends. I felt sad for her because she wasn’t going to college, getting an education, meeting new friends, seeing the country or starting a career; she was going to work side-by-side with a “stranger” making signs. Granted that “stranger” probably soon became her family, but it was still a sad situation in my eyes. I didn’t want to ask too many details fearing I would offend her and her community. She, and the others, seemed perfectly content at their job where they money they make is all evenly distributed. I wish we would have been informed and educated about this stop in the trip so I could have been more prepared and aware of this alternative lifestyle. When I arrived, I felt really uncomfortable, although the people were very nice. They gave us cookies and two books to read. One book is about forgiveness and the other is about sex and relationships. A few of us started reading some of them on the bus, sharing some of the very interesting points of view.
We then traveled to an old train station where we could walk around and climb on an old train car. The last stop of the Tenterfield trip was the old pioneer village. It was by far my favorite part of the day. It was neat to have free time to roam around this old abandoned, but perfectly preserved pioneer town. The classroom was so neat. It is amazing to think that one tiny unairconditioned classroom housed many pupils of all ages.
It was great to see the country side of Australia....but it was even better to stay in the city of Melbourne and Sydney for a few days over spring break too...
stay tuned for some spring break stories soon (i promise) :)
cheers!
The weekend of the 27th, the anthropology class spent a weekend in Tenterfield, a small country town. For each anthro trip we are required to write a "reflection" paper. Since I'm soo far behind on updating my blog (and I'm severely lazy)... I'm just going to post PART of my paper for class. So if it seems overly-detailed and cheesy...it's because it is (and apparently that is a requirement for class...)I will add some things so you can understand what i'm rambling about.. . and delete some things I know you wouldn't care about!
I will be writing all the amazing stories and sites I saw over spring break (which may turn into a book...a lot of incredible things happened!)
The weekend trip to Tenterfield was very educational from the moment we stepped onto the bus until the time we returned home. On the long bus ride, we listened to the soothing music of the very talented John Williams, a legendary singer/songwriter. I really enjoyed his music and found many of his lyrics really interesting and thoughtful. I liked how each of his songs carried a message; resolving personal conflict, helping the environment, or expressing country pride. His music made me really excited about the Australian culture that I have been experiencing and have yet to experience.
The first stop- Thunderbolt's hideout cave. Thunderbolt was a famous thief waaaaay back in the day. Thunderbolt’s cave was very interesting. I was really glad to have received an informational handout when we stepped onto the bus that morning. I was able to read about Thunderbolt which helped me to appreciate the cave and trail more. It is crazy to think that someone would hide out in a cave many years ago. He must have led a fascinating life and it was great to get a glimpse into that part of history.
I was unaware of the amount of hiking to the top of Bald Rock would require but it was well worth it. It was not too terribly long or tough, but it seemed never-ending considering we (the students) had no clue where we were going or when we would reach the final destination. With each climb over a rock and through the trees, the view grew increasingly spectacular, building up anticipation to reach the top. I have never personally witnessed such an incredible view. It honestly took my breath away. At one point, I snuck away and sat alone on the top, just admiring the view and collecting my thoughts. It was a great to reflect on how lucky I am to be here in Australia and to be a part of these incredible adventures.
After the steep hike down Bald Mountain, we retreated to Doctor’s Nose Winery. Although I did not taste any wine, I did enjoy the relaxing time. It was great to unwind from such an eventful day and I looked forward to returning to the hotels. The room I was put in was beautiful and slightly luxurious. With the clean room, comfy bed, and never-ending delicious food, I felt I was vacationing at a quiet little resort in a pleasant historic farm town…and I was right. Tenterfield, population approximately 3,000 people was a refreshing change from the small tourist town of Lennox Head. I went to bed feeling at home and ready for the next day’s adventures.
The next day we went to Billabong Blue, a sapphire fossicking place. It was really neat and fun except for the massive amount of flies that swarmed around everyone’s head and landed in people’s mouth and eyes. I found some pretty nice sapphires, but nothing overly impressive. It was interesting to learn the process of extracting sapphires from a pile of dirt. I was not very good at sifting the dirt in the water and thankfully, the lady who works there helped me out quite a bit.
After tea (we were fed like every 2 hours...it was awesome!) we were off onto another adventure. I had no clue where we were heading as the schedule only informed us we were going to have “lunch with kinfolk.” When we arrived at this community full of barns and trailers, it seemed very quiet. After a few moments of being there, people dressed like Amish came crawling out of their homes to greet us. They ran a business making signs for places all over the world. It wasn’t until the man mentioned something about New York that I noticed he had an American accent. He and the rest of the community were from the states and came (or got sent) to Australia to work and live. The men and women walked about, talking about their business of making signs. It was evident that they take a lot of pride in their work and it was even clearer that they were more interested in us and our lives. One girl who was about 20 years old had been living in Australia for the same amount of time I have and our stories were complete opposite. She was sent, on her own, from Pennsylvania to work and live, without her family and friends. I felt sad for her because she wasn’t going to college, getting an education, meeting new friends, seeing the country or starting a career; she was going to work side-by-side with a “stranger” making signs. Granted that “stranger” probably soon became her family, but it was still a sad situation in my eyes. I didn’t want to ask too many details fearing I would offend her and her community. She, and the others, seemed perfectly content at their job where they money they make is all evenly distributed. I wish we would have been informed and educated about this stop in the trip so I could have been more prepared and aware of this alternative lifestyle. When I arrived, I felt really uncomfortable, although the people were very nice. They gave us cookies and two books to read. One book is about forgiveness and the other is about sex and relationships. A few of us started reading some of them on the bus, sharing some of the very interesting points of view.
We then traveled to an old train station where we could walk around and climb on an old train car. The last stop of the Tenterfield trip was the old pioneer village. It was by far my favorite part of the day. It was neat to have free time to roam around this old abandoned, but perfectly preserved pioneer town. The classroom was so neat. It is amazing to think that one tiny unairconditioned classroom housed many pupils of all ages.
It was great to see the country side of Australia....but it was even better to stay in the city of Melbourne and Sydney for a few days over spring break too...
stay tuned for some spring break stories soon (i promise) :)
cheers!
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